Hey guys – I know today’s challenge is to take a series of photographs to reflect what your day is about. I was all set, planning out my photographs – and then life interfered. Yeah, as you might have noticed, that’s Pepto-Bismol and a Coke. In fact, that’s dosage number two (well, Pepto number 4, I think?) for today. I managed to catch the stomach bug that’s going on and have been spending my day (projectile) vomiting. Ugh. Nothing is staying down. At least I’ve made it to the bathroom each time. Actually, that last one was a close call since I was at the checkout, about to pay – when the emergency hit. Fortunately my sister was right there to take over and a bathroom wasn’t too far away. And that’s probably TMI for you guys.

Anyway, this is throwing a huge monkey wrench into my Easter plans. No cooking or baking for me, much less any eating. It’s amazing how a day without any food or beverages makes you feel wobbly. I mean, it’s not like I haven’t fasted before, though not without water intake, but when you fast you also prepare yourself mentally. Me, I’m feeling mostly annoyed that I can’t do all the things I planned – no Easter chocolate, no contributing to the family brunch (sight and smell of food is still a trigger), and no eating any salads right now. Sniff.

Well, this too shall pass. I hope your Easter weekend looks like it’ll be fun, and I’ll check in with you guys once I’m better.

Hi! If you were expecting a Wednesday Yarn Along kind of post, there’ll be one of those next week. I’ve actually made some progress on my socks, and I think I’ll be casting on for another wip (work in progress), to give me a bit of a break from knitting socks. And I really need to get back into the groove of blogging regularly. Even though it’s kind of hard with the household that I’m currently living in. But more on that another day.

For today though, I’m sharing my homework with you. Yes, homework – it’s so weird to once again have assignments that have to be turned in. But this homework is all my own fault. You see, I signed up for a food photography class, and as part of our current homework, we were asked to take two photographs, of two food-related items. They could be anything from a finished food items to ingredients to herbs and spices. The assignment was two take two type of photographs – one with shallow depth of field, and one where the entire photograph, with all the components were in focus. The next class will deal with lighting, so this is a good prep for that class. So, in case you hadn’t noticed, the top photograph was the one with shallow depth of focus, and the following one is with everything in focus.

everything is supposed to be in focus

If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you might recognize the tart. I’ve made it before and blogged about it too – it’s the whole lemon tart recipe from smitten kitchen. I’ve made it before, and quite successfully so. I’ve definitely gotten positive feedback from all the various consumer’s of the tart. This time around though, I made some changes. I used Meyer lemons instead of regular lemons, and it really does make a difference in the taste. It’s not better or worse, it’s just different. Honestly, I can’t tell you that I liked one or the other better, they’re both good.

I also used smitten kitchen’s great unshrinkable tart crust recipe instead of a Mürbteig base (classic German basic crust recipe). The crust was good – but not “oh my God, this is out of the world great, this is now my go-to crust recipe” great. I think I might stick with a regular Mürbteig. I like the texture better. Oh, and for the sake of the little person with dairy allergies I used Earth’s Balance soy-free butter sticks instead of butter – yes, also for the filling. I’m not a fan of margarine generally – the whole hydrogenated fat thing is a turn-off – but, well, if I want to make this a dessert that everyone around here can eat then there really isn’t much of an alternative. I did find the texture of the crust to be different though – it was so ‘buttery’ that I added extra flour to the crust in order to get a more of a dough and less of a buttery consistency. I have no idea how people got a crumbly kind of mixture in their food processor. I guess I should try making the version with butter before I render my verdict on the tart shell. And I do have some leftover dough which will probably be transformed into Easter cookies.

And that’s it from my end for today. Stay tuned for more of my photography adventures. I should have a new post up in a few days, probably on Friday. Until then!

I hope you haven’t given up on me! I know, it’s been a month of almost no posts, apart from the Weekly Photography Challenge. But I have a good reason: I’ve been dealing with a ginormous move, all the way across an ocean and a continent, and I’m only now starting to settle in. My stuff is partly here, partly in storage, partly on its way, which has made things difficult, knitting-wise. Almost all of my yarn is in storage, plus various knitting paraphernalia like knitting needles, my swift and ball winder, and other knitting do-dads. Is that a real word, do-dads?

twisty and pretty cables

Given all that’s been going on, I haven’t been reading much of anything. But, I’ve managed to get one project started. Currently on my needles is a sock. Yes, only one sock, the other one hasn’t even been started. The pattern is Paraphenalia, and includes ribbing and a few cable twists. Nothing too complicated, but a fun little project that I can pick up anytime. I’ve just turned the heel, so I’m actually a bit further along that the photograph. Let’s see how much progress I’ll make by next week – I’m hoping to have this sock finished and the second one at least halfway done. It’s always good to have goals, even if you don’t reach them on rightaway.